"Managers already have taken a public day, a furlough day," he said. "I have. Without pay.... I don't want to see anybody laid off."

At closed-door meetings Thursday and Friday, top Daley aides asked union leaders to consider voluntary furlough days or pay raise deferrals or risk about 425 layoffs.

The labor leaders were told that five-day unpaid furloughs for many union city employees--one day for police officers and firefighters--or an agreement to forgo scheduled midyear raises would produce the $15 million in personnel cost savings needed to help bridge the $25 million budget gap and prevent layoffs. Steps are being taken to address the other $10 million.

"They were told what the budget situation is and we asked, `What are your ideas? What can you do to help us? What ... will lessen the pain for everyone?' " said Jacquelyn Heard, Daley's press secretary.

The message was that "these are some of the ways we could save money, but let's be creative," said Lisa Schrader, a spokeswoman for the city's Budget Department. "Let's think about it and come up with other ideas too."

The meetings were conducted by city Budget Director Michael Harris and John Doerrer, a top Daley aide.

"It's probably an overstatement to say they requested [givebacks], but they threw them out," said Henry Bayer, executive director of Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 6,000 city workers. His union faces the threat of 100 of the 425 possible layoffs.

The suggestion was clear that to avoid layoffs, there needed to be an agreement to pare personnel expenses, he said.

Labor leaders were not pleased. "We don't think this is a fait accompli at all," Bayer said. "We have to look at alternate ways of saving money."

The Chicago Bears, through unprecedented public subsidies in the Soldier Field reconstruction project that are outlined in Sunday's Tribune, and Boeing, through incentives to relocate its corporate headquarters to Chicago, are recent examples of businesses that have received millions of dollars of government largess, Bayer said.

"If the city has all this money to give away to the Bears and Boeing," there must be enough to cover the cost of government services without requiring sacrifices from the employees, he said.

Moreover, Bayer said, previous expense cutting has reduced worker ranks to the point "where it's hard to get the work done that needs to be done."

"I talked to some of our members and they said it is time for Daley to go," said Bill Kugelman, outgoing president of Local 2 of the Chicago Fire Fighters Union. "The whole thing just stinks.... I don't care if [firefighters are asked to give back] 10 cents. What gall to come to us. Our people have not had a raise in three years and they want us to give money back to them."

But Daley said, "It's up to them. You can only ask them.... We are trying to have no one laid off. There is nothing wrong with that concept."

He has said tax increases are last on the list of options to solve the city's budget problem.

"You have to protect the taxpayers of Chicago," he said Saturday. "You can't go back there and say, `We have to increase your taxes because I want these people working.' You can't do that. Everybody has to share it."

If layoffs become necessary, none would come from the ranks of police and firefighters, Schrader said. "We do not want to do anything that compromises public safety," she said.

Schrader acknowledged that there have been "internal discussions" about slowing the rate of filling vacancies in the Police Department by reducing the annual number of new recruit classes.

Further discussions between labor leaders and city officials are expected this week. Daley is expected to adopt a plan by early May.